In a Day

In the past day or so a lot has happened. Words have been spoken that have floored me, riveting me to attention, causing me to realize the beauty and pain that life often affords in unrelenting duality.

A patient:

He commented on the stiffness of the ER stretcher. Hitting my biggest pet peeve nerve of my workplace, I casually respond how I normally do: "At least we have stretchers. At least you don't have to sit on a concrete bench while you wait." I proceed to tell him about how in Gulu stretchers are only given to two kinds of patients: those going in for surgery and those who have died, and even then, the stretcher is literally a rolling metal table. No cushion. No hydraulic back release. He agrees, "Someone can always be in a worse situation than you." I ask him if he can stand, he says: "No, I'm a paraplegic. My legs don't work." I casually ask him what happened, as I notice the large scar on his back. He proceeds to tell me how some 40+ years ago he got in a bad car accident with his then wife and two friends. He is the only living survivor, and he has been paralyzed since. In that moment I wanted to take back all I had said about the stretcher. I wanted to reverse the whole last five minutes and not say such ridiculous things to someone who had endured so much. I was reminded that even my best assumptions can be drastically wrong.

My family:

All I can say is that I admire the love I've witnessed, the steadfastness of a wife, and the humility amidst brokenness.

A student:

"I want to adopt because I am adopted." Spoken by a student, while our small group was discussing having children, prompted by the pregnancy of another leader. I held my composure in the moment, thanked her deeply for saying what she had, and sat there stunned by her honesty and frankness in that moment. She is one of five adopted kids in one family. She has two little brothers who are African-American, a sister who is Caucasian, and she looks to be American-Indian. I love the verses in the Bible talking about us being adopted sons and daughters of God, but this student understands that on a level I never would be able to. She's lived it, breathed it and reconciled it. She just taught me more in that sentence than I've gleaned from years of studying. "I want to give hope because I received hope. I want to give love because I am loved. I want to believe in someone because I was believed in." I owe her a thank you.

I'm reminded of the joy and grief of life, the beauty amidst ashes, the life that comes through death.

For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love He predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will -- to the praise of His glorious grace, which He has freely given us in the One He loves. Ephesians 1.4-6